- Banker Wants $20 Million

BRIEFCASE

December 14, 1996

Attorneys for a Florida banker said Friday he should be paid $20 million after he was libeled by an ABC News investigative story, while ABC officials countered they were only trying to protect the public interest. Whether or not ABC and one of its producers unfairly ruined the reputation of Alan Levan, chief executive of Fort Lauderdale-based BankAtlantic, is at the heart of the libel lawsuit that went to trial Oct. 30. Jurors in Miami deliberated for several hours Friday and will resume Monday. The 1991 20/20 story by ABC News correspondent John Stossel and producer William Willson focused on a deal in which Levan's partners swapped real estate investments for bonds at BankAtlantic, an S&L he controlled.